Today, Something Unusual
Several friends have asked me how my 86-hour fast went, so I decided to write this short blog about it.
WHY?
After New Year's and completing work on the film ČERNÁK, I decided to try an 86-hour fast as a way to cleanse my body. I had read a lot about it in the past, and for several years I’ve been practicing intermittent fasting on a 16/8 schedule. This is supposed to activate processes like autophagy and ketosis.
The principle is simple: I fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour window. It’s quite easy because sleep counts as part of the fasting period. For example, if I stop eating at 8:00 PM and don’t eat again until 12:00 PM the next day, that’s 16 hours of fasting. Supposedly, this is very healthy.
The problem arises when I’m in a phase where I enjoy a few beers in the evening. After 8:00 PM, I get a terrible craving for food that I just can’t control. While I usually stick to pickles, there are times when I lose the battle and raid the entire fridge.
I try to live healthily, within reason. Since I enjoy drinking beer, I use fasting as a way to give my body a break and reduce calorie intake. Maybe I naively see it as a way to balance things out. 😊
My Lifestyle
I do strength training almost every other day, with small breaks throughout the year. At the start of the year, I began running 5.5 km daily, occasionally pushing it to 7.5 km. I must say, it really helps, and I feel great.
If I didn’t exercise and watch my calorie intake, I’d easily weigh 110 kg. My natural build leans toward that kind of physique—I’d be a gloomy, round, and depressive guy. That’s just how my body is by default. I have to carefully monitor my diet and maintain regular exercise.
The Beginning of My 86-Hour Fast
I decided completely spontaneously on Sunday evening to go for it. No food, just water, along with vitamins, magnesium, potassium, an occasional pinch of salt, and vegetable broth twice a day.
The first 24 hours were tough—I felt hungry, and on top of that, cooking was going on at home. Dávid was making tortillas with cheese and meat, and the smell filled the entire house. My body was used to its usual dose of food after noon, but I held out.
By Tuesday, the hunger was completely gone. A strange sense of euphoria set in, which peaked after 48 hours. I felt absolutely amazing. I should mention that every day after 4 PM, I ran 5.5 km on an empty stomach. It was snowing outside, and the temperature was -3°C. I felt fantastic and ran my fastest 5 km since last year.
After the run, I drank some broth, replenished my minerals, and did 20 minutes of strength training with a 20 kg weight plate. By the 60-hour mark, I felt incredible. I had the urge to work, create new masters for old albums, book concerts, listen to audiobooks, and even write my latest blog, “Stay in Slovakia or Is It Time to Leave?”, which sparked some interesting discussions.
The 86 hours ended yesterday at 12:00 noon. I woke up at 4 AM, driven by intense hunger. I weighed myself and had lost 3.5 kg. Most of it was likely water, but I’d also burned some fat. I felt slightly dizzy.
For lunch, I made another broth with meat, prepared a banana smoothie with kefir, ate a spoonful of peanut butter, and had a Kaiser roll with ham and butter. My brain was in a state of pure euphoria. I opened the cupboard with sweets but felt a deep reluctance to eat anything sugary. After all this, after such a cleanse, it felt wrong to flood my body with sugar.
I’ve decided to make this fast a monthly practice at the start of each month and to continue with my intermittent fasting routine of 16/8. I feel truly great.
David
HOW I WORKED ON THE MIKI MOVIE.
(you may turn on english subtitles)
Way to go!